A parents group and its relation to the problem of mental retardation

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Gauge Consistent Wilson Renormalization Group II: Non-Abelian Case

We give a wilsonian formulation of non-abelian gauge theories explicitly consistent with axial gauge Ward identitities. The issues of unitarity and dependence on the quantization direction are carefully investigated. A wilsonian computation of the one-loop QCD beta function is performed.Comment: 34 pages, 1 eps figure, latex2e. Minor changes, version to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phy

Geometric Actions for D-Branes and M-Branes

New forms of Born-Infeld, D-brane and M theory five-brane actions are found which are quadratic in the abelian field strength. The gauge fields couple both to a background or induced metric and a new auxiliary metric, whose elimination reproduces the non-polynomial Born-Infeld action. This is similar to the introduction of an auxiliary metric to simplify the Nambu-Goto string action. This simplifies the quantisation and dualisation of the gauge fields.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, no figures. Minor corrections; version to appear in Physics Letters

Quantum power correction to the Newton law

We have found the graviton contribution to the one-loop quantum correction to the Newton law. This correction results in interaction decreasing with distance as 1/r^3 and is dominated numerically by the graviton contribution. The previous calculations of this contribution to the discussed effect are demonstrated to be incorrect.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; numerical error corrected, few references adde

Critical comments on the paper "Crossing ω=−1\omega=-1 by a single scalar field on a Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati brane" by H Zhang and Z-H Zhu [Phys.Rev.D75,023510(2007)]

It is demonstrated that the claim in the paper "Crossing $\omega=-1$ by a single scalar field on a Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati brane" by H Zhang and Z-H Zhu [Phys.Rev.D75,023510(2007)], about a prove that there do not exist scaling solutions in a universe with dust in a Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) braneworld scenario, is incorrect.Comment: 5 pages, 8 eps figure

Ultraviolet Complete Quantum Gravity

An ultraviolet complete quantum gravity theory is formulated in which vertex functions in Feynman graphs are entire functions and the propagating graviton is described by a local, causal propagator. The cosmological constant problem is investigated in the context of the ultraviolet complete quantum gravity.Comment: 11 pages, no figures. Changes to text. Results remain the same. References added. To be published in European Physics Journal Plu

Social media influencers' impact during pregnancy and parenting : A qualitative descriptive study

Pregnant people and parents engage with social media networking sites seeking support and information that is shared in a relatable way. Engaging with social media influencers (SMIs) and their followers, however, may have both affirming and harmful effects. SMIs can facilitate information-sharing, discussion, and supportive behaviors, but engaging with SMIs can lead to negative experiences and exposure to misinformation. To date, little is known about the impacts of following influencers during pregnancy and early parenthood. The aim of this study was to explore how engaging with SMIs impacts pregnant people and parents of children aged 5 or under in Australia. A qualitative descriptive approach was taken. Qualitative data from 85 anonymously completed online written surveys were thematically analyzed using Braun & Clarke's six-step process. Five overarching themes and two subthemes were identified. The first theme, “Comparisons of self,” held two subthemes: “Unfavorable comparisons of self to SMIs” and “Favorable comparisons of self to SMIs.” Additional themes were “A virtual community of inspiration and togetherness,” “Sharing of information, opinions & experiences,” “Gatekeeping self-efficacy,” and “Credibility.” The findings of the study indicated that discordance between influencer-mediated expectations of parenthood and a person's actual experience may affect well-being and perceptions of parental self-efficacy. Information sought from influencers may substitute for face-to-face education by clinicians. Health professionals who are also influencers may possess the ability to provide evidence-based information. This content, however, is not without risk for bias or incompleteness

The impact of social media influencers on pregnancy, birth, and early parenting experiences : A systematic review

Background Pregnant and new parents are increasingly engaging with social media. The impacts of engaging with social media ‘influencers’ and ‘bloggers’ during a time of heightened vulnerability to influence, in particular, merits exploration. Aim To systematically review the literature to identify what is known about how following social media ‘influencers’ and ‘bloggers’ impacts pregnant and new parents’ experiences and decision-making. Methods A search of CINAHL, World of Science, Medline, EMBASE and Google Scholar databases was undertaken in January 2023 to identify the literature focusing on the impacts of engaging with influencers or bloggers as pregnant or new parents. The reference lists of the included papers were hand-searched. Data were extracted from each paper, tabulated, and thematically analysed. The review was reported using the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Findings Seventeen papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final synthesis. Thematic analysis revealed four overarching themes, which were ‘sharing information’, ‘support’, ‘identity’, and ‘monetisation’. Discussion Social media influencers provide a network of peers amongst whom discussions, supportive behaviours, and information sharing take place. However, concern arises around the potential for combative interactions, the risk for transmission of misinformation, and the potential impacts of following influencers who are also qualified health professionals. Conclusion Existing research suggests that engaging with social media influencers can be both beneficial and harmful for pregnant and new parents. At the current time, it is unclear how exposure to the benefits or harm impacts personal experiences and decision-making

Covariant Pauli-Villars Regularization of Quantum Gravity at the One Loop Order

We study a regularization of the Pauli-Villars kind of the one loop gravitational divergences in any dimension. The Pauli-Villars fields are massive particles coupled to gravity in a covariant and nonminimal way, namely one real tensor and one complex vector. The gauge is fixed by means of the unusual gauge-fixing that gives the same effective action as in the context of the background field method. Indeed, with the background field method it is simple to see that the regularization effectively works. On the other hand, we show that in the usual formalism (non background) the regularization cannot work with each gauge-fixing.In particular, it does not work with the usual one. Moreover, we show that, under a suitable choice of the Pauli-Villars coefficients, the terms divergent in the Pauli-Villars masses can be corrected by the Pauli-Villars fields themselves. In dimension four, there is no need to add counterterms quadratic in the curvature tensor to the Einstein action (which would be equivalent to the introduction of new coupling constants). The technique also works when matter is coupled to gravity. We discuss the possible consequences of this approach, in particular the renormalization of Newton's coupling constant and the appearance of two parameters in the effective action, that seem to have physical implications.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX, SISSA/ISAS 73/93/E